Letter of the Day | Jamaica should consider satellite surveillance
Published:Saturday | June 18, 2022 | 12:06 AM
THE EDITOR, Madam:
In November 2015, a Delegation Agreement was signed between the European Commission and Frontex – the European Border and Coast Guard Agency – the border surveillance component of the Copernicus Security Service to support the European Union’s (EU) external border surveillance information exchange framework by providing real-time data on what is happening on land and sea around the EU’s borders.
Six years later in a 2021 Frontex report, “Frontex led five Joint Action Days in different European countries that resulted in the arrest of 223 people smugglers, detection of more than 550 stolen cars, identification of 572 fraudulent documents and more than 840kg of drugs.”
All this happened because the EU embraced satellite border security services.
Jamaica also has unsecure border issues. It is said that at least 150 points of entry currently remain unmonitored. The prevalence of illegal guns and drugs, in my view, requires the services of satellite border security services.
The Government of Jamaica, through its diplomatic relations with the EU, ought to be able to access similar security services to negate crime, guns and bring about drug reduction. With further partnership with member states of CARICOM, joint community efforts in securing the Caribbean ought to be possible at the regional level.
While some aspects of improving national security have been made with the input of individuals associated with The University of Technology, Jamaica it is now the psychological moment for Jamaica to feel and see practical security innovative ideas implemented on securing our borders not only by satellite technologies but with other local inventions, such as a national security technology strategy from this institution.
If we fail in securing our borders, then crime will undermine investments in internal security and we will become an unruly republic where actions of the State are an extraordinary attack against our liberty.
DUDLEY MCLEAN II
Mandeville, Manchester